On Friday the No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastics team hosted the No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners. The meet ended with Alabama losing 197.55-196.3.
“We had some uncharacteristic mistakes,” head coach Ashley Johnston said of the team’s floor performance. “A lot of moments that we need to learn from and get better at.”
Rotation 1
For the first rotation, Alabama performed on the vault and posted a score of 49.075. However, the Sooners took the lead while on the uneven bars with a score of 49.275.
For the Crimson Tide, senior Lilly Hudson and junior Gabby Gladieux tied for the highest score, a 9.875. The vault title later went to Oklahoma’s Faith Torrez, who posted a 9.95.
On the uneven bars in the first rotation, Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers posted a 9.95.
Rotation 2
Rotation 2 ended with the Sooners leading 98.575-98.225. On the uneven bars, the Crimson Tide posted a 49.15, and on the vault Oklahoma posted a 49.3. This was the second consecutive rotation for Alabama without a score of at least 9.9.
“We had a great week of connections, but we’re going to keep building on that. We’re going to keep finding those little pathways to just make little differences,” sophomore Chloe LaCoursiere said. “We’re just little tricks away.”
On the uneven bars, the Crimson Tide’s highest score came from freshman Paityn Walker, who posted a 9.875. However, Walker’s score fell short of Bowers, who took the uneven bars title.
Rotation 3
After the third rotation, the Sooners held the lead 147.975-147.425. On the balance beam, Alabama posted a 49.2, and on the floor Oklahoma posted a 49.4.
Crimson Tide graduate student Shania Adams posted the highest score on the balance beam with 9.875.
Rotation 4
The fourth rotation did not go as planned for the Crimson Tide, after several mistakes the team posted a 48.875 on the floor. Against North Carolina, the Crimson Tide was able to put a score of 49.425 up. The Sooners posted a 49.575 on the balance beam after having five routines post a score of 9.9 or higher.
“Our week training … was plagued with sickness and most people out of the gym for a lot of days. I think it makes sense that floor was the event that took the biggest toll,” Johnston said.
Johnston clarified that several gymnasts were out of practice from last Friday’s meet against Kentucky until Thursday, the day before the Oklahoma meet.
Before the gymnasts took to the floor, LaCoursiere ran to the student section to get students on their feet to hype the team up.
On the floor, Alabama made several crucial mistakes. Junior Rachel Rybicki posted a 9.575 after stepping out of bounds during her routine. Hudson fell during her first pass three routines later and posted an 8.95.
Gladieux returned right after Hudson’s routine and posted a 9.95, the highest routine of the meet for the Crimson Tide. This also marked the only score of 9.9 or higher for the Crimson Tide. Gladieux tied for the event title with Torrez and Bowers.
“When you step up there on the floor and you see the whole student section just on their feet and start cheering, it gives you a lot of energy,” Gladieux said. “I just wanted to end this meet on a high note, because this week’s been tough for us.”
Sophomore Jamison Sears saw her season debut on the floor after battling an injury the past few weeks. She posted a 9.75.
The all-around title went to Bowers, who posted a 39.625.
The Crimson Tide will travel to Athens, Georgia, next Friday to take on the Georgia Bulldogs at 6 p.m. CT. The meet will be streamed on SEC Network.